Fogliano Redipúglia and the Memorial Sites on Monte Sei Busi

The Sacrario di Redipuglia is located on the western slope of Monte Sei Busi and shapes the historic character of Fogliano Redipúglia. The monumental staircase comprises 22 steps and contains the remains of more than 39,800 fallen soldiers whose names are known. Visitors to this site encounter an impressive memorial whose dimensions reveal themselves step by step.

Monuments, museums and memorial sites

Behind the 22nd step of the Sacrario di Redipuglia are two symmetrically arranged museum rooms. One is dedicated to the gold medal recipients and the works of painter Giuseppe Ciotti; the other contains personal belongings and small mementos of the fallen. The Sacrario Militare and the Parco delle Rimembranze on Colle Sant’Elia are open permanently.

The Parco delle Rimembranze includes memorial works, Austro-Hungarian fortifications, trenches and tunnels. It also contains 30 artillery guns, many of which are considered rare. The Cimitero Militare di Redipuglia “Invitti 3^ Armata” was also selected as a site on Colle Sant’Elia. Around 30,000 war dead were buried there; 5,860 of them retained their identity. Memorial stones along the staircase and around the summit plaza, inscriptions and bronze replicas of military objects commemorate the cemetery’s original design.

One kilometre from the Sacrario di Redipuglia is the Cimitero austro-ungarico di Fogliano Redipuglia. It contains the remains of 14,550 soldiers who fell in this area. Hungarian, Bosnian, Slavic and Romanian family names point there to the multi-ethnic dimension of the Habsburg Empire, which fought its final battle on the Karst, in the Alps and on the Piave.

The local sacred architecture also adds to the historic picture. The Chiesa di Santa Elisabetta features interior furnishings and decorations by local painters Corrado Zimolo, Carlo Mauri and Giulio Justolin. It also houses a wooden statue of the Madonna from the 14th century. The Chiesetta di Santa Maria in Monte was built at the centre of a Venetian military complex. Its garden is still surrounded by a star-shaped wall, partly preserved in its original form, which the commander Antonio Priuli had built during the Guerre Gradiscane between Venice and the Empire.

Since 2014, the Museo Multimediale della Grande Guerra has been housed in the former railway station of Fogliano Redipuglia. At three touchscreen stations, it provides independent access to a collection of more than 1,200 photographs. It therefore complements the evidence visible directly in the landscape with an independent, image-based exploration of the First World War.

Karst landscape and trails across the former front lines

The Museo all’aperto della Dolina del XV Bersaglieri is located on the battlefields of the Karst plateau of Monte Sei Busi between Fogliano Redipúglia and Ronchi dei Legionari. Marked trails lead to trenches, tunnels and military positions. You can reach the open-air museum by car after travelling approximately two and a half kilometres along the road from Redipuglia to Doberdò del Lago; a footpath then leads to Monte Sei Busi at 118 metres above sea level.

From Monte Sei Busi, the view extends across the entire former Isonzo Front, from Monte Krn, also known as Nero, to the Gulf of Trieste, which is bounded by Monte Hermada. Around the summit, a section of the so-called Trincerone italiano, also known as Trincea Mazzoldi, is visible. The Trincea delle Frasche was one of the early and seemingly impregnable Austro-Hungarian defence systems dug into the hard rock of the Karst. Some of its original sections have been partially filled in and are now only faintly visible amid the surrounding woodland vegetation.

Near the Trincea delle Frasche, easy marked trails lead to the memorial stone for Filippo Corridoni and the pyramid dedicated to the infantrymen of the Brigata Sassari. The Sentieri di Pace project organises excursions throughout the year with guides specialising in the history of the First World War. This allows you either to explore the historic traces in the landscape independently along the marked trails or to gain a deeper understanding during a guided excursion.

How to reach Fogliano Redipúglia

The Sacrario di Redipuglia can be reached by car via the Venice–Trieste motorway, the Redipuglia exit and then two kilometres in the direction of Fogliano Redipúglia. By train, you can reach the area via Redipuglia station on the Udine–Gorizia–Trieste line. If travelling by plane, Ronchi dei Legionari Airport is five kilometres away; by ship, you can reach the region via the Port of Trieste, approximately 45 kilometres away.

More destinations: Ruttars, Monfalcone, Cormòns, San Floriano del Collio, Gabria, Capriva Del Friuli, Grado, Staranzano

To the higher-level travel overview: Gorizia.